August

As we went to press, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), representing 5 million civil aviation, rail, truck and sea transport workers worldwide pledged support for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in its contract negotiations.

LOS ANGELES – The United Farm Workers (UFW) are marching in a 150-mile, 10-day trek from the San Joaquin Valley to Sacramento, in order to pressure Governor Gray Davis to approve a history-making bill, which could force growers to sign labor contracts.

CHICAGO – Over 7,000 members of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 1 are preparing for a possible Sept. 1 strike against some of the nation’s premier hotels here as tough contract negotiations continue.

TEL AVIV – In the lobbies of the Knesset, rumors have made the rounds that the Sharon regime would not last until the end of its term, October 2003, and early general elections might take place. It became obvious, that not one of Sharon’s promises, had been realized, and nobody expects that they will be. The “Peace with Security” for the Israeli people, or the advance of Israel’s economy, are farther away than ever.

The Czech Republic and eastern Germany are digging out from the worst floods in a century but here in the U.S. just under half the lower 48 states are afflicted with the worst drought since the 1930s. Is this global warming with a vengeance, drowning one continent in a deluge and turning another into a dust bowl?

The fight is on in Connecticut to win pro-worker representation in Washington and Hartford in November. Delegates to last week’s Connecticut AFL-CIO Political Convention left fired up to mobilize their members for a massive voter turnout in this high-stakes election.

CAPETOWN, South Africa – The Greenpeace ship Esperanza arrived here on a cold, blistery Aug. 14 morning in connection with the upcoming U.N. World Summit on Sustainable Development. The Summit will open Aug. 26 in Johanesburg, South Africa.

Outspoken progressive Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was defeated in a bitter primary fight Aug. 20 by combined efforts of the Republican Party and other right-wingers, including powerful backers of the Israeli government’s hard-line anti-Palestinian policies.